It is too early to panic. September is always a month of colliding priorities. But what exactly has happened to Premiership crowds? Take away Northampton's Friday night gate of 13,491 and the average attendance for the elite tier of English club rugby at the weekend was in the region of 6,500. London Irish's crowd of 8,267 was lower than anything they attracted for a league game last season. The empty seats at Wasps for the high-profile visit of Leicester told a similarly downbeat story.

The previous weekend, you may recall, Saracens could tempt only 6,087 souls to Watford for their game against Sale. Newcastle attracted barely 5,000 for the visit of Wasps and even Gloucester have recorded their lowest regular season gate for five years. Only a few short weeks ago, Premier Rugby was restating its ambition to attract higher average gates than football's Championship by 2015. That goal suddenly seems a long way off.

Why? It did not appear to be an issue when 75,000 attended the London double-header earlier this month, basking in the feelgood glow of an exciting new season. That occasion now appears to have been the exception to the recessionary rule. People have less spare cash and are being increasingly choosy where they spend it. The early signs suggest they are saving up for a handful of big games each year, rather than splashing out every week.

Other factors, though, seem to be intruding. Some clubs feel that the increasing variance in kick-off times is having an effect. Anyone who has tried to travel any significant distance in England by car on a Friday night lately can certainly testify to the difficulty of following a team home and away. Others prefer to watch their rugby at 3pm on a Saturday and cannot commit to doing the same on a Friday or a Sunday, particularly if the game in question can be viewed from their own sofa.

That, I think, is the biggest single issue the authorities need to ponder. It is clearly not cheap to subscribe to Sky and ESPN but those who can afford it have the luxury of a wider choice of rugby than ever before. Want to see how Jonny Wilkinson is going? Tune in to Toulon's game against Bourgoin live this Friday. The Aviva Premiership and the Magners League? You can now watch up to half a dozen live games per weekend should you wish.

Both the Wasps-Leicester and Irish-Gloucester games were screened in full, the coverage superb. If you have a family of four it makes it increasingly tempting to press the Sky+ button, free up an afternoon and go for a kickabout in the park, rather than driving 200 miles and coughing up large sums of money to attend in person. Talking about it online is cheap and fun, too…

It has left clubs facing a genuine dilemma. Television companies clearly giveth but they also taketh away. In a bid to balance the books even new Premiership teams such as Exeter have posted ticket prices which, unless discounted rates are available, price many families out of the equation. The likes of Harlequins' Big Game are popular in large part because of their affordability. Yet at some point – and it may well just have arrived – the novelty factor wears off and clubs have to go down the full-price route in order to fund improved facilities and a half-decent squad.

If I were Premier Rugby – and they are already poring over the figures – I would be praying for two things: a cracking start by the English contingent when the Heineken Cup kicks off next month and a vibrant set of autumn internationals. It is quite impossible that, by Christmas, the turnstiles will be humming again. If not a bleak midwinter looms for the Premiership's have-nots.

ROTATION, ROTATION, ROTATION?

So here's a funny thing. Northampton sit top of the Premiership table after three games, having used just 16 players in their starting XV to date. Exeter Chiefs, busily surpassing many people's expectations, have also retained virtually the same line-up. The era of rotation, still beloved of Saracens among others, is being challenged by a rival philosophy. The proof will be in the end-of-season pudding but continuity is suddenly all the rage.

ITALIAN STALLIONS

Watch out this week for… Benetton Treviso. Two wins out of three in their first foray into the Magners League, most notably a 29-13 demolition of Leinster at the weekend. This weekend they host the Cardiff Blues. Victory would further boost Italian rugby confidence ahead of the Heineken Cup next month.